Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Decreases Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 245,669 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in 3M were worth $31,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in 3M by 5.8% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 274,976 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,589,000 after acquiring an additional 15,112 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in 3M in the third quarter valued at $259,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,547 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,417,000 after purchasing an additional 13,193 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Citigroup upped their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.13.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $132.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.40. 3M has a 12 month low of $90.17 and a 12 month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company’s Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.